In custody disputes, the focus is on the “best interests” of the child.  Because there are few possible outcomes to the dispute (short of terminating the parental rights of one or both parents), the standard sometimes seems more like the “least bad interests.” Breanna McKinnon and John Bergstrom had a daughter, C., born in 2008 when the parties were 18.  Breanna and John lived together for about 14 months after the birth, primarily at John’s par… Continue reading →

UPDATE: John Schedin’s “bellwether” Levaquin case is heading to the jury… November 30, 2010 P0st: John Schedin took the medicine Levaquin in 2005 and soon after suffered injury to both his achilles tendons,  a known risk of the drug for a relatively small number of users of the drug, an antibiotic. Levaquin included a warning but sometime after Schedin’s incident, the warning was changed and made more prominent (ma… Continue reading →

The jury awarded John Schedin $700,000 in compensatory damages (with 75% liability assigned to J&J, 25% shared between Schedin and his personal doctor).  $1.115 million in punitive damages.  The Johnson & Johnson shareholders do not seem overly concerned. … Continue reading →

The interesting fact pattern that gives rise to the problem in this case is what are the duties of a generic drug manufacturer if, after a drug’s initial federal approval (and approval (and then mandated use) of a specific warning label), new information comes to light about potentially harmful side effects?  Can a claim be brought against the manufacturer under state law for failure to warn? Gloria Mensing took a medicine, MCP, a gene… Continue reading →

Update #2 (April 15, 2011):  Before an appeal to the Eighth Circuit, defendants take another run at reversing the bad outcome of trial before U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) Update (March 9, 2011, in the p.m.):  Here comes the next bellwether case (starting May 31, 2011, 9 a.m., Minneapolis – Defendants pick the next plaintiff). Original post (March 9, 2011,  in the a.m.):  U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D…. Continue reading →

Sued for violating Plaintiff John Sorenson’s constitutional rights, Stearns County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant David McLaughlin testified that his gun accidentally discharged in the process of arresting John Sorenson who was “passively resisting” arrest during a drug bust at a “McStop” (McDonald’s Restaurant and gas station) in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Consequently, McLaughlin, through counsel, argued t… Continue reading →

As promised, the first bell-wether Levaquin trial has begun with opening arguments on November 15 from plaintiff’s counsel, the widely known plaintiff’s lawyer, Mikal Watts, followed by defense counsel, John Dames from Drinker Biddle in Chicago and Tracy Van Steenburgh from Nilan Johnson Lewis before U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) and a jury of 12 Minnesotans. Judge Tunheim had granted plaintiff’s motion t… Continue reading →

… base of the true nature of those risks.  Obviously, defendants will counter these allegations with their own explanation of the drug’s benefits and the warnings that defendants included when selling the medicine. Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) recently decided important motions in the cases on the threshold of trial (here is one decision, for example). Trial in these bellwether cases is the culmination of multi-year multi-million dollar … Continue reading →

…e U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, is a cattle-rustling operation, WCFC is being accused of having wrongfully pocketed the proceeds of a cattle transaction gone bad. Plaintiff Rabo Agrifinance Inc.  (through John R. Brakke of the Vogel Law Firm in Fargo) has charged WCFC with “conversion” and, last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) denied WCFC’s motion to dismiss.  WCFC’s reject… Continue reading →

[UPDATE #2:  Mag. Judge Arthur J. Boylan's $100,000 spoliation sanction against Southern Graphic Systems upheld by U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim.] [UPDATE:  Updating this drama that unfolded in June, see linked brief: the Plaintiff’s objections to Judge Boylan’s sanction (arguing that it did not go far enough and unfairly faulted plaintiff’s tactics in the litigation as a basis for not delivering the death-blow of default judgment on… Continue reading →